THE LIMITATIONS OF BREAST-CANCER SCREENING FOR FIRST-DEGREE RELATIVESOF BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

Bitter controversy surrounds the recommendation of mammographic breast -cancer screening for women aged 40 to 49 years of average risk. This paper considers the case for screening women in their 40s with higher risk, specifically women who have one or more first-degree relatives w ith breast cancer. A review of the literature and of current knowledge suggest that screening such women is more cost-effective, in the sens e of having a higher yield per mammogram and better predictive average risk in this age group. However, there is no evidence that screening is more efficacious in reducing mortality in this subgroup than in oth er women in their 40s.